Role of CB2 receptors in social and aggressive behavior in male mice

Abstract

Our results suggest that CB2r is implicated in social interaction and aggressive behavior and deserves further consideration as a potential new target for the management of aggression.

Targeting Cannabinoid CB2 Receptors in the Central Nervous System. Medicinal Chemistry Approaches with Focus on Neurodegenerative Disorders

“…CB 2 R may be also expressed by CNS neurons. The role of CB 2 Rs in schizophrenia, depression, food consumption, and drug addiction has been demonstrated in different laboratories and the results are consistent with neuronal expression of the receptor (Onaivi et al, 2008a , b , c ; Hu et al, 2009 ; García-Gutiérrez et al, 2010 ; Ishiguro et al, 2010a , b ; García-Gutiérrez and Manzanares, 2011 ; Ortega-Alvaro et al, 2011 ; Aracil-Fernández et al, 2012 ; Navarrete et al, 2012 , 2013 ; Bahi et al, 2014 ; Blanco-Calvo et al, 2014 ; Ortega-Álvaro et al, 2015 ; Rodríguez-Arias et al, 2015 ; García-Cabrerizo and García-Fuster, 2016 ). The receptor is significantly expressed in neurons in the brain stem (Van Sickle et al, 2005 ), in the cerebellum (Skaper et al, 1996 ; Ashton et al, 2006 ; Gong et al, 2006 ; Rodríguez-Cueto et al, 2014 ) in the internal and the external segments of the globus pallidus of the non-human primate (Lanciego et al, 2011 ), and in the substantia nigra (in humans, not in rodents) (García et al, 2016 ; Gómez-Gálvez et al, 2016 ).…”

CNR2 rs2229579 and COMT Val158Met variants, but not CNR2 rs2501432, IL-17 rs763780 and UCP2 rs659366, contribute to susceptibility to substance use disorder in the Turkish population

“…CNR2 receptors are chiefly found in the immune cells, however they have also been identified in some regions of the rat brain, such as cerebral cortex, striatum, amygdala, thalamus, cerebellum, spinal nucleus, olfactory nucleus, and hippocampus [30]. Further investigation searched whether cannabinoid CB2 receptor knockout (CB2KO) mice similarly showed a higher aggression compared with wild-type during the social interaction test and resident-intruder paradigm [31]. There are several association studies between CNR2 variants gene and schizophrenia [11], eating disorders [32], depression [33], and alcoholicm [34].…”

Cannabinoid type 2 receptors mediate a cell type-specific self-inhibition in cortical neurons

“…Manipulation of CB 2 R expression in CA1 PC or microglia was shown to induce distinct behavioral phenotypes in mice: while microglial CB 2 Rs were involved in contextual fear memory, overexpression or disruption of CB 2 Rs in PC lowered anxiety levels or enhanced spatial working memory, respectively (Li and Kim, 2017). Moreover, constitutive deletion of CB 2 Rs induces a schizophrenic phenotype in mice (Ortega-Alvaro et al, 2011), increases aggressive behavior (Rodríguez-Arias et al, 2015) and modulates drug-seeking behavior for ethanol (Ortega-Álvaro et al, 2015) and nicotine (Navarrete et al, 2013). Furthermore, neuronal CB 2 Rs modulate oscillatory activity -more specific theta-gamma-coupling -in the hippocampal formation (Stempel et al, 2016).…”